Some of our readers are familiar with the marketing revolution that is occurring all around us which some call social marketing, others call attraction marketing, and still others call relationship marketing.  Even if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of those techniques, I’m sure you’ve at least heard the terms being bantered around.

Over the last year or so, I have been diving pretty heavily into this synergistic combination of marketing and the Internet (specifically what’s now being called “Web 2.0″) to see how to apply it to our own business–both our coaching business and our wellness business.  The place I started in my quest for information was Renegade University (RU).  In fact, since I had experience with the founder from a prior relationship, I was blessed to be a charter member (student?) of Renegade University, and most of what I now know about social marketing came from that one affiliation.  Admittedly, I read information from several other sources and attended lots of online teleseminars, but still, all in all, the foundation came from RU.

RU, in a nutshell, offers a growing number of on-line audio-visual seminars (some call “webinars”) which explain virtually every facet of social marketing.  These courses are like no others I have ever seen in that they are designed for absolute beginners.  You know, push this button then this will happen.  Then push that button and that will happen.  Then click here then click there, etc.  It’s a click-by-click walk through of what the various tools in social marketing are, how they’re best used strategically, and then how to set them up and use them on a daily or weekly basis.  It’s so beginner oriented, that the main complaint we hear is that it goes too slow. 

RU was started with network marketing as it’s target audience.  Much of the language used relates to the MLM or network marketing industry.  However, I want to emphasize that if networking is not your game, you can easily “filter out” all the networking jargon and take the content of the courses and apply it to any kind of business, local or international, Internet-based, home-based, or a brick-and-mortar store.  In other words, if you have a flower shop that serves your local community, you can learn how to apply social marketing to reach out to many more potential customers than you would reach with traditional marketing approaches.

As proof of that, I have coached two people over the last six months to a year in the use of RU to build their business.  One individual was a missionary who was looking to increase his exposure to churches that might be open to his seminar teachings.  Another was a newly trained lifestyle coach who wanted to build a practice around a very specific niche using the Internet.  Both of those have turned out to be quite successful in applying the technology of the Internet to what they’re wanting to do.  It’s been an extremely gratifying experience.

All this is to suggest that you would do well to take a look at Renegade University.  If you have any interest in social marketing at all, you owe it to your self to investigate it.  Actually, you can get a good overview by simply clicking on the Renegade University link here and giving me your name and email address.  That will give you immediate access to a portion of RU which you can evaluate further.  

I’m also including a link to a video on RU made by a friend and colleague of mine, Irene Kirkman.  (Incidentally, using video like Irene does here is just one of a myriad of social marketing tools and techniques.)

“Right now, if you’re not conditioned for the success you want to achieve, it could be looking you straight in the eye and you will not see it. It will be right in front of you, and you’ll be wondering where it’s been hiding all this time.” John Assaraf

Who do you let program your brain?

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — and how well I know it. (Psa. 139.14; NLT) (”wonderfully complex” translated as “fearfully and wonderfully made” in most other versions)

Three weeks ago now I said that I was going to do an extended series of DGs on the human brain. With a couple of interruptions, I’m still going strong. The feedback from you readers has been very encouraging. Thank you for taking the time to write. Sometimes it gets a little lonely on this side of the keyboard. If you missed the introduction to this little series, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and go back and read that introductory material. (Click for “The Amazing Brain.”)

Today, the focus is a little more on the RAS or Reticular Activating System. I say a little more because the RAS was the topic of the 10/17/07 DG — over a year ago. What was presented there is still very relevant, so I suggest that’s a good place to start. (Click for “The Rectular Activating System.”)

The exciting thing about the RAS is that this is one function of our amazing brain that you can easily control rather than be its victim. When you master that control, you have an incredible “silent partner” to help you toward your goals. The RAS is all about protecting you from anything and everything that is not important to you. Protecting? Protecting from what?

Good question! Our five senses are literally bombarded with sensory inputs that would drive us absolutely insane if they all registered in our conscious mind. So the job of the RAS is to filter out all those inputs that are not part of what either you have said were important to you or that somebody else has said are important to you. Can you see that if you don’t take charge of your own RAS programming, that you are totally at the mercy of those who are more than willing to install their programs into your RAS.

Let’s look at a couple of simple examples. If you are worried about the economy and not having enough money, you’re RAS will dutifully filter out all the information that is contrary to how bad the economy is and how people are indeed running out of money. This is what our media loves to talk about. Remember, bad news sells. If, on the other hand, you simply tell yourself, thereby communicating with your RAS, that you are open to any and all opportunities that might come your way that will create additional streams of income, your RAS will again dutifully start filtering out things that don’t address the idea of new income streams. Ideas and opportunities that were there all the time will now start registering with your conscious mind and you’ll be receiving fresh (to you) thoughts and ideas.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the value of writing your goals on a piece of paper. The reason that is so effective is because of the RAS. The simple act of writing your goals down is effectively communicating that desire to your subconscious, specifically your RAS. This is so simple that it’s ridiculous. Yet hardly anyone seems to pay any attention to this incredibly important part of our brain. We all walk around as victims rather than responsible. This is all about focusing on what you want rather than on what you don’t want. How many times have you heard me talk about that? Now you understand why it works. It’s not just another one of those woo-woo, positive thinking mind games.

Your RAS is one of your most important allies. Get to know him (or her).

Prayer Power
Lord, it must be difficult for you to see us struggle through issues in life that you fearfully and wonderfully equipped us to be able to handle. Grant us the grace to open our minds and be willing to learn about those things that we don’t fully understand.

Link of the Day
The Reticular Activating System-Your Brain’s Unique Screening Device

Blessings on you as you as you purpose to be more pro-active in programming your own RAS.

“Too many conservative Evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture….  Too many conservative Evangelicals mistake political power for influence.”  Cal Thomas

How do you feel about the so-called “Religious Right?”

Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God.  (Rom. 13:1; NLT)

In deference to our broad range of DG Readers, I try to avoid writing about politics and religion.  I have strong opinions on both, but I’m sure that many of you have no interest in my opinions because you have plenty of your own, thank you very much.  I respect that.

Today is not intended to be an exception, but Cal Thomas wrote an an article after the election that really struck home with me.  A good friend and colleague called the article to my attention over the past weekend and  I’ve been wrestling with whether or not to share it as a DG ever since.  As you can probably tell, I decided to go for it.

As you would expect from a widely syndicated columnist like Cal Thomas, he doesn’t leave a lot of blanks that need to be filled.  So, I’ll sign out and leave you in capable hands.  Just click on the link of the day and enjoy…or get angry, depending on your point-of-view.

Prayer Power
Lord, help all of us put the very contentious and divisive campaign of 2008 behind us and move forward with a spirit of love and respect for those who embrace viewpoints different from our own.

Link of the Day
Religious Right R.I.P. by Cal Thomas

Blessings on you as you go forth this week determined to be a blessing to others.
 

“Move out of your comfort zone.  You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”  Brian Tracy

Do you think of yourself as too thin, thin, just right, heavy, too heavy?  What impact does that self-picture have on your ability to change?

After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.”  (Matt. 2:13; NLT)

Week before last, I said that I was going to do an extended series of DGs on the human brain. If you missed that introduction, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and go back and read that introductory material. (Access that DG by clicking here)

“Psycho-Cybernetics” is a word most people attribute to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon who coined the word as the title of his book almost 50 years ago.  It’s a compound word made up “psycho” which pertains to the mind or brain, and cybernetics which pertains to how a system works and specifically relates to the control-response feedback/correction aspect of that system.  Everyday examples include the thermostat on your wall, the autopilot control in an airplane or boat, etc.

The piece of all this that most find to be a new understanding is that our Manufacturer also equipped each and every one of us with a cybernetic feedback and correction system.  Yes, we too have a built in thermostat that controls a number of things in our daily lives.  Most, if not all, of that control/response function is handled by our non-conscious mind. 

Some of you who have been reading DGs for some time will remember the one I wrote on your happiness set-point (2/11/08 DG).  In that case, our “thermostat” is set for a certain level of happiness and will take whatever action is necessary to bring us back to that level whenever we allow circumstances to make us happier or less happy. 

Most will already be familiar with the psycho-cybernetic system we refer to as our comfort zone.  We all have a range of activity within which we feel very comfortable.  When circumstances or opportunities cause us to move out of that comfort zone, we will often go to great lengths to adjust our behavior to return to that zone of familiarity.  For example, tests have shown that people have a comfort zone associated with their income level.  If situations change such that they suddenly begin earning significantly more that their comfort zone allows, they will (often unconsciously) scale their activity back to a level which will return that income to a more familiar level.  Diets?  Same thing.  We each have a set point regarding our weight.  If we don’t take steps to change that set point, dieting is always going to result in that all too familiar yo-yo phenomenon.

In all of these cases, and countless others, willpower and persistence will not work to break free from a psycho-cybernetic range on a long-term basis.  Change must occur on the inside first.  As John Assaraf has written, “You have to take the old brain, the old thermostat, and rewire it.  You have to reset your thermostat before you can start seeing and behaving differently.”

Prayer Power
Lord, help us to internalize the fact that real growth occurs when we step out of the comfortable.  Give us the grace to live lives “on the edge.”

Link of the Day
How to Break Out of Your Comfort Zone

Blessings on you as you choose a comfort zone that is limiting your forward progress and take steps to break free.

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“The subconscious does not do the thinking.  That is not its function.  It just carries out orders.”  John Assaraf

Could you responsibly  handle having a servant that blindly did everything that you told him/her to do, without any thinking or push-back whatsoever?

Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”  (Ecc. 8:4; NIV)

Last week, I said that I was going to do an extended series of DGs on the human brain.  If you missed that introduction, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and go back and read that introductory material.  (Access that DG by clicking here.)

Then earlier this week, I wrote about Your Non-conscious Mind and explained about how it was programmed to be in charge of all the body functions that keep us alive.  I also said that the non-conscious or subconscious mind also stores all the memories, habits, and beliefs you’ve ever developed, most of which you can’t even remember using your conscious mind.  Today, I would like to discuss that function in more detail.

Most of your actions arise from your habits and beliefs.  Beliefs could be loosely described as mental habits.  Beliefs come from all sorts of places, the most predominate being from your childhood.  Statements made by adults, particularly before you were able to reason differently, were accepted as gospel and became lodged as truth in your mind.  Now, as I pointed out on Monday, one of your brain’s primary tasks is to ensure that your outside world matches your inside world.  So, as you can see, if the beliefs you have developed over the years are not quite true, your brain is pulling out all the stops to make sure that it filters out any information that is contrary to the untruth you believe. 

For instance, if you were told over and over again that you would never amount to anything when you grow up, you inevitably began to accept that as truth.  Or if you were told time and time again that anybody with a lot of money probably got it dishonestly, you began to see that as truth.  Now your brain is filtering out all information to the contrary.  Can you begin to see how that severely limits you as your life progresses?

You already know that trying to overcome physical habits that you don’t want is quite a chore.  Mental habits (beliefs) are just as persistent.  Therefore, as you can begin to appreciate, your subconscious mind can be your greatest strength if you have habits and beliefs that serve you, and conversely it can be your greatest enemy if you are programmed with a series of habits and beliefs that don’t serve you.

Now, catch the impact of this…say you have an untrue belief that you can’t even remember  with your conscious mind (but remember that your subconscious mind never forgets anything).  Now this forgotten memory is actually creating automatic behavior which most likely is not serving you since it was based on untruth in the first place.  What a convoluted mess this becomes.  How many times have you heard, “Well, that’s just the way I am.” 

You see, if you begin to understand all this, you can see that changing your behavior on the outside can only come from first changing the beliefs on the inside.  Otherwise, you are simply a victim to all that has happened in the past.  But armed with an understanding that this behavior is coming from the unconscious mind you can begin to implement strategies to change some of your limiting beliefs.  You don’t need to understand where the belief came from, just that it is there and that it is not true.

More to come next week.

Prayer Power
Lord, help us to discern those beliefs that lead to behaviors that are limiting us from being all that You have designed us for and are calling us to become.

Link of the Day
Focus on Your Beliefs, Not Your Behavior

Blessings on you as you begin to examine some of your unwanted behaviors more carefully.

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“In reality, aren’t my successes and set backs all about me? Isn’t it about me taking ownership for my personal growth; me contributing; me setting and reaching goals? Me loving life? Me loving my country?”  John G. Miller

What can you do today to move on?  How can you be the best on your job?  What can you do to serve people?

So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.  (Rom. 13:5; NLT)

The following is taken in it’s entirety from the 10/30 email from John G. Miller, author of QBQ: Question Behind the Question and his second book, Flipping the Switch.  His message is so “right on” that I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.  After all, I’m sure that somewhere about half of you are feeling pretty distraught about the outcome of the election.  Allow to John minister some encouragement to you.

Well, every four years in America we vote for the POTUS (President of the United States), and every four years on the day after there is weeping and gnashing of teeth by the losing side. And the truth is, the losing side is just about as large as the winning side. Amazingly, there could be 60 million people who vote for the ticket that does not win on November 4th, 2008. That’s a ton of people who’ll have a choice to make.

The choice to whine, complain, bemoan, and blame–or simply bring personal accountability to their daily walk by asking The Question Behind the Question(QBQ), “What can I do today to move on?” “How can I be my best on the job?” and “What can I do to serve people?” These questions enable those whose candidate remains a U.S. Senator, to avoid the humanness of finger-pointing, victim thinking, and discouragement.

And for the slightly larger winning side, where does personal accountability come into play? Will this group think that now all is right with the world? It’s so easy to give a U.S. President too much power–in our minds–over our lives. It always makes me laugh when, with our massive, ever-changing, and complex economy, we think it’s all about the man in the Oval Office. The truth is, economies go up and they go down–and then they go up again. By their very nature they are cyclical. When they’re strong, the President gets too much applause, and when they slump he’s buried in way too much blame. And so, in that vein, for the winning voters on Wednesday morning November 5, how dangerous these thoughts would be: “Yes! My guy won! Now I’ll have a better job and more income and good finances and perfect health and a happier life and … !”

Really? Does the POTUS have that much power, influence, and control? Would we, in a democracy, want him to? Can he give and take away joy? Will he help me get my personal finances in order? Will his tenure improve my relationships or keep me in shape? Do I really need my guy to be in the Oval Office for me to excel at my work, love and provide for my family, and contribute to the lives of others?

My wife, Karen, gave me a t-shirt that reads: It’s All About Me! I don’t think it was a positive statement the day she handed it to me, but in reality, aren’t my successes and set backs all about me? Isn’t it about me taking ownership for my personal growth; me contributing; me setting and reaching goals?

Me loving life? Me loving my country?

Yes, regardless of who’s in the Oval Office and what political party is in charge of Congress, it’s really all about personal responsibility–individuals making good choices each day, and being accountable for those choices.

And for all of you who vote for the guy who doesn’t make it, I say TAKE HEART! There’ll be another election in 2012 and another round of advertising and debates. And that campaign will begin in January … 2009.

Meanwhile, I recommend using what we call the Ultimate QBQ! — “What can I do right now to let go of what I can’t control?” Remember, no matter who is elected as the next POTUS, for each American there is no debate: The answers are still in the questions, and personal accountability is still the secret to our success.

Prayer Power
Lord, grant us the grace to understand that it is really all about the choices we make for our own lives.  It’s not about who won the election.  It’s about us.  Help us not to gloat and help us not to fret about the election.  Instead grant us the grace to make wise choices that glorify You.

Link of the Day
http://www.qbq.com/

Blessings on you as you choose to get on with your life, and be the best you possibly can.
 

“To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge”  Benjamin Disraeli

How important to your daily living is your subconscious mind?

But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.  (Dan. 2:30; NKJV)

Last week, I said that I was going to do an extended series of DGs on the human brain.  If you missed that introduction, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and go back and read that introductory material.  (Access that DG by clicking here.)

Today, I’d like to introduce you to your Non-conscious mind (aka subconscious mind,  or unconscious mind).  I say introduce you, because I expect many of you are going to be pretty surprised how important and how powerful this part of your brain really is.  Last week I said that of your brain mass, 17% comprises the conscious mind and 83% is the non-conscious.  That should be your first clue.  How would you like to have the responsibility to process somewhere around 100,000 chemical reactions per second in every cell of the 70 to 100 trillion cells of your body?  Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?  Well, your non-conscious mind handles that without even thinking about it.

Allow me to quote a passage written by John Assaraf in a chapter of his book entitled Having It All.  This particular chapter is devoted to understanding our marvelous brains and is where I’m getting a lot of my information for this series.  He writes, “At any given time, your conscious mind is absorbing about 11 million pieces of information, but you’re only aware of about 40 to 2,000 pieces.  What happens to the other 10,998,000 pieces?  You’re dropping them from your consciousness because you either don’t need them or you’ve conditioned your brain to drop them.”

Your conscious mind “only controls two to four percent of your perceptions and behavior.  Your non-conscious mind…controls ninety-six to to ninety-eight percent of your perceptions and behavior.  This part of your brain averages four hundred billion actions per second by handling impulses that travel faster than a hundred thousand miles per hour…At any given moment, ten thousand trillion electrical and chemical actions and reactions are happening in your wonderful brain.  Yes, you are a genius.”

Your non-conscious mind is your personal operating system to use computer vernacular.  It is sustaining your life.  It causes your heart to beat, it kills off ten million blood cells every second and is responsible to create ten million new ones.  It digests your food and maintains your body’s temperature at that perfect level.  The list is virtually endless of all the things the subconscious brain does for us just to keep us alive, and I suspect that we’ve only begun to understand much of what is on that list.

So, the question of the day is, if 96-98% of our perception and behavior is controlled by the non-conscious mind, why do we invest so much time dealing with the conscious mind?  As I mentioned last week, we can’t accomplish the goals we set because goal setting happens in the conscious mind while the application of relevant information, the actions and perceptions necessary to accomplish that goal all take place in the non-conscious mind. 

Diets don’t work because we attempt to use the conscious mind to lose the weight, but the real control of our behavior is in the non-conscious mind.  How many times have we heard some weight loss guru talk about the mental side of losing weight and immediately dismissed it as a bunch of woo-woo mumbo-jumbo?  I know I have.  Even after I was beginning to understand some of this I was careful who I tried to explain it to for fear of being labeled “new-age.”  Brain research is now verifying that the subconscious mind is where all the action really is.  And we’ve been ignoring it! 

In addition to all the processing power devoted to just keeping us alive, the subconscious mind also stores all the memories, habits, and beliefs you’ve ever developed, most of which you can’t even remember using your conscious mind–but believe me, they’re still all there…every one of them.  But that’s another DG later this week.  Stay tuned.

Prayer Power
Lord, our minds and bodies are so amazing.  When we begin to get a glimpse of how powerful our minds really are, it truly causes us to humbly recall how fearfully and wonderfully we are made.  We are incredibly blessed.

Link of the Day
Having It All

Blessings on you as you begin to comprehend the amazing power of your subconscious mind.
 

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